


Selachii's

by EzzyDean



Category: Free!
Genre: Host club AU, M/M, bar au, coffee shop AU, pairings to be added as chapters are added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-30
Updated: 2013-11-30
Packaged: 2018-01-03 00:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1063746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzzyDean/pseuds/EzzyDean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Why do I let you drag me into your ideas?"  Nagisa looked over at him, reddened cheeks and blonde hair giving him a picture perfect face of innocence.</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i>"What are you talking about?  One.  It was just a cup of coffee. And two.  I have the best ideas."</i></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ai falls hard for the two red heads working at the coffee shop downtown and Nagisa insists on helping him out.  But what will happen when they run into Ai at his work place?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Selachii's

He just wasn’t cut out to deal with people on a daily basis like this.  His string of mostly unsuccessful jobs had shown him that.  Give him a mountain of paperwork, a back room to stock and organize, or a dozen orders to complete and he was fine.  But dealing with people had always been awkward.  It didn’t even matter that the people who frequented this shop were pretty laid back; they were still people and he still felt weird dealing with them.  He was sure that the quality of customers had to be thanks to the manager’s influence.  

Not that he would ever readily admit it to the man.  He was overflowing with enough confidence as it was.  A round of giggles came from a table near the window and Rin didn’t even have to look up to know it was Seijuro flirting with the girls there.  A deeper chuckle filtered through and he rolled his eyes.  Correction.  Seijuro was flirting with the girls and guys there.

“Don’t you ever get tired of being such a huge flirt?”  He asked as Seijuro gave the table a little finger waggling wave and leaned on the counter next to him with a huge smile.

“Jealous I’m not giving you all the attention?”  He asked as Rin turned back to cleaning the cupboards under the counter with an irritated noise catching in his throat.  He was trying to make notes of what all he needed to bring up from the back.  You’d think as the manager the guy could remember to refill the supplies every once in awhile.

“As if I’d want anymore of your attention.  I should turn you in for harassment as is.”  Seijuro laughed at him and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

“I’m not harassing you it’s just a little friendly teasing.  If you ever seriously told me to stop I’d do it in a heartbeat.”  Rin watched from the corner of his eye as Seijuro stepped up to the register and took the next order.  That was the problem, he thought as he watched the older man’s eyes twinkle at the mother and daughter standing there, a light blush staining their cheeks.  You’re so damn friendly to everyone it’s going to come back and bite you in the ass someday.  Grabbing his list of supplies he headed into the back room.  A frown creased his lips as he tried to remember if Seijuro had ordered everything they needed last week.  His boss had the friendly customer service part of management down.  It was the ordering and paperwork and general maintenance he sucked at.  Which, he always proudly declared, was why Rin was his unofficial assistant manager.  He’d be the actual assistant manager if they got enough business to hire a couple more people in the near future.  Or so Seijuro claimed.  He wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

 

“I’m really not your type, huh?  You really do have a thing for redheads don’tcha?”  The blonde giggled at his friend’s startled look.

“What are you talking about, Nagi?”

“Oh, don’t pretend to play it cool, Ai.  I know you better than that.  You’ve been staring at those two behind the counter so hard I’m surprised they don’t have holes bored into them yet.”  He tugged on his friend’s arm and ran across the street to the shop, barely looking for traffic.  “Why don’t we just go inside?  It’s pretty chilly out today.  I could use some coffee.”  Aiichiro’s eyes widened and he rushed after Nagisa.  The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with him on a sugar rush again.  Nightmares of the last sugar high flooded his mind and he felt a shiver that had little to do with the weather run down his spine.

“Anything but that.  You do not need anymore caffeine!”  The tinkling of the bell announcing Nagisa’s arrival drowned out his voice and he hurried inside after him.

“Welcome to Selachii’s.  I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”  Nagisa was already at the counter beaming up at the man behind it when Aiichiro caught up to him.  Kind golden eyes met Aiichiro’s blue ones and he felt like he was trapped.  “What can I get you two?”

“Hey, Seijuro we’re out of, oh.  Sorry.”  Red eyes pierced through him and he knew he was in trouble.  Being under both of those gazes at the same time was like being held under a microscope.  Nagisa rattled off an order for both of them and paid before dragging Aiichiro off to a table in the corner and watched their order being prepared.

One of the things that apparently made Selachii's so popular, other than the manager, was that they made and served a wide assortment of small treats.  There were a different kind available every day and they were always amazing.  Nagisa had chosen a plateful of mini strawberry cakes for them to share, along with a couple mugs of hot chocolate, and he was torn between watching the delicious looking cakes being brought to them and watching Ai blush as their server neared.

"You are unfairly adorable, Ai." Nagisa stated as their order was placed in front of them, causing Aiichiro's already blushing face to turn even redder.

"Nagisa shut up!" Ai hissed as their server - Rin according to his name tag - let out a huff of laughter.

"What I can't appreciate my friend's cuteness?"

"Please stop talking.  I know you're up to something."

"You are too cute."  Nagisa turned to their server and snagged his sleeve as he turned to head back to the counter.  "Isn't he?"

"Nagisa!" Ai squeaked as Rin looked down at them.  He tried to read the redhead’s gaze from where he was hiding behind his fingers and was surprised to find that it seemed contemplative.  Was he really thinking about answering?  Did Ai really want to know what he thought?

"Hey, Rin.  Need you back here."  Seijuro called from the counter and Rin hurried back.  But not before giving Aiichiro and Nagisa a quick smile.

"Ugh Nagisa. I hate you somedays."

"Aw but I love you, Ai."  Nagisa grinned as his friend turned even redder.  "You heading to work when we're done?"

"Might as well." He muttered as he hid his reddened face behind his scarf.  "But I swear if you keep this sort of thing up I'm not taking any of your orders tonight.  You can do them yourself."  To any of the others at the club that would be an idle threat.  But Nagisa knew that Ai would actually do it to him.  He had made him make his own orders once before and it had been a disaster.  The only thing that had saved him was that he managed to play it off as part of his act.

Giggling drifted from the counter as they stood to leave and they watched in amusement as Seijuro was making dramatic gestures while Rin shook his head in exasperation.  The bell announced their departure and the two redheads behind the counter looked over.

"Come back soon!"  Seijuro grinned and waved at them and Rin gave a small nod of acknowledgement.  Ai nodded back and hurried out pulling his grinning friend with him.  He shivered and tightened his scarf as they headed to the club.

"Why do I let you drag me into your ideas?"  Nagisa looked over at him, reddened cheeks and blonde hair giving him a picture perfect face of innocence.

"What are you talking about?  One.  It was just a cup of coffee. And two.  I have the best ideas."

  


Finishing the cleaning and setup for the night Ai found himself complaining to the other bartender, Haru, about Nagisa's actions that afternoon.  He could never be entirely sure if the older bartender was actually listening or not.  But just being able to vent to someone was a relief.

"I warned you when you started that Nagisa was trouble."  Haru's dark blue eyes studied him as he wiped down the counter one last time.  They still had about half an hour before they opened and Ai decided that Haru seemed to be in a slightly companionable mood tonight so he continued.

"Yeah.  I know.  But you know he just latched onto me.  There wasn't much I could do.  And now I'm pretty used to him I guess."  It was true.  When Haru offered him the job last year he had warned him that Nagisa would be a lot to handle.  In fact Nagisa was the reason they had gone through six bartenders in as many months.  If he didn't like them he drove them to quit.  If he did like them, well, they tended to become attached to him and that made his job difficult.  Nagisa seemed to like Ai well enough but no amount of the blonde’s charm could sway Ai towards him romantically.  Which he had stated clearly the night he had joined the staff almost a year ago.

 

He had seen the ad posted on a bulletin board near his new apartment and he had snatched the opportunity.  Down to the last of his savings due to his old apartment building - where he had been getting by as the caretaker with a part time bar job on the side - being sold suddenly he had needed something fast.  

_Bartender needed immediately.  Will perform other duties as needed.  See Haru at Lapis anytime after 4._

The address had led him to a two story brick building on a somewhat secluded street and he approached the door with caution.  This didn’t look like any kind of place that would need a bartender.  At least not one as young as him, he was sure.  It had the feel of an old-fashioned gentlemen’s club he had seen in a movie somewhere.  There was a simple yet elegant wooden door, polished to a shine, set in the wall with a small arched window above it.  Two steps led up to a landing in front of the door and he paused, glancing at the small plaque mounted under the bronze lamp beside the door.

**Lapis**

Inside a short hallway led to a set of stairs heading down and he followed them to a door.  The word Lapis was scrawled artfully on the wooden surface and he pushed it open.  A young man, probably only a couple years older than Ai himself, was sitting at a polished bar flipping through a magazine.  He brushed dark hair off his forehead and glanced over when Ai closed the door behind him, his dark blue eyes sizing Ai up.

“I, uh, saw this flyer about a bartender job?”  After a moment the man inclined his head towards the barstool next to him and Ai sat down, studying the room.  The bar stretched in front of one wall and faced a small dance floor.  There were a handful of tables and couches spread throughout the fairly large room and two of the corners were partially blocked off with half-walls topped with an aquarium in one corner and vining flowers for the other corner for privacy.  The magazine shut with a flick of his wrist and he spun on the barstool and studied the aquarium in the corner.

“Experience?”  Ai snapped his attention to the man at his side and mentioned the handful of places he had worked and what he had done.  Mostly bartending with a few maintenance type jobs.

“Hours?”  Their conversation continued like that for awhile, the man tossing out short questions and Ai rattling out answers.  He still wasn’t sure if this was the place for him or not but things seemed to be going ok so far.  The door leading to the stairs opened and Ai turned to see a man in red glasses standing there.

“Hello, Mr. Nanase.  Who’s this?”

“Stop referring to me so formally, Rei.  This is our new bartender - ah what was your name?”  Ai spun his barstool back around in surprise.  Apparently his answers had been satisfactory.  Either that or they were really desperate.

“Oh, um, Aiichiro.  Nitori.”

The man gestured to himself, “Haru,” and to the man still standing just inside the door, “Rei.”  Then he motioned for Ai to follow him to a door beside the bar that led to a small office.  The desk was covered in papers and he pulled out a folder from one of the drawers, handing it to Ai with a shrug.  “Paperwork.”  After finishing the file he had left the office to find Haru, glancing around the empty club and finally spotting him on his stomach dozing on the couch in the corner behind the aquarium.  Seated next to him reading a book was the blue haired man from earlier.  On the other side was another man he hadn’t met yet.  He smiled at Ai when he crept around the corner, instantly setting him at ease.

“You must be our new bartender.  I’m Makoto Tachibana.  Call me Mako.”  He held out a large hand and Ai returned the gesture.  Haru held out a hand for the folder, not bothering to open his eyes to look at it, and tucked it under his chest.  “Why don’t you sit with us?  I’m sure Haru wants you to stay tonight and see how things work if you don’t have any other plans.”  Something about the way Mako’s smile reached even his eyes captivated Ai and he soon found himself sitting next to him chatting away.

When Nagisa had burst in that night, with only ten minutes to spare before they opened, he had immediately spotted Ai and zeroed in on the new face.  A quick whirlwind introduction “I’m Nagisa.  Can’t wait to have some fun with you later!” accompanied by a suggestive wink and the blonde was gone into the back room to change.  Ai wound up spending the night seated at the bar observing everything.  

Overall Lapis was just an ordinary little club.  It was small and fairly secluded so it wasn’t overly popular or crowded.  The bar had a decent selection with quite a few drinks and shots created by Haru.  The music was an interesting mix of new and old songs from seemingly every genre.  

The part that threw Ai for a spin initially was the purpose of Rei, Mako, and Nagisa.  Why Haru needed a bartender when there were three other staff members had confused him.  When he had asked Haru had just stared at him for a minute or two and then shrugged.  He stayed confused until the first party came in: four young women, Ai guessed them to be 23 at most and obviously fairly well off.  They settled into the corner behind the vines and Haru made a note in the small book he kept under the bar as Mako and Rei joined them.  When Haru finished bringing the group a round of drinks Ai motioned him over.

“What are they doing?”  Haru eyed the corner and then slipped behind the counter again.

“Their jobs.”

“What kind of job is that?”

“They’re keeping them entertained.”  Ai sat in silence, digesting the information as he watched the group.  The women all giggled at something Rei said and Makoto leaned towards one of them to whisper something to her, causing her to blush.  Spinning on his barstool Ai leaned over the bar and whispered conspiratorially.

“Is this some kind of host club or something?”

“Or something, yeah.  Is that a problem?”

“Uh.  Well.  No.  It just surprised me.”  

It was the truth.  He saw nothing wrong with the others making money by keeping people company.  If they were willing to pay who was he to judge?  It had surprised him, however, that all three of them seemed to be comfortable with both male and female customers.

What else had surprised him that night was how Mako, gentle looking as he was, broke up a fight that had started just by staring down the two men.  How Nagisa had smothered him in hugs and kisses on the cheek despite having just met him.  How Rei led a group of giggling twenty-somethings, male and female alike, in an intricate dance that left the group breathless.  How Haru made drink after drink without even hesitating, regardless of the complexity.  The whole group was full of these simple surprises and he had wondered once again if this was really the place for him.

Later that night after closing, Ai found himself trapped on one of the couches across from the bar, Nagisa seated in his lap interrogating him as Haru cleaned up.  After a series of increasingly personal and slightly uncomfortable questions he finally snapped, pushing Nagisa off his lap.

“Regardless of whether or not I like guys or what position I like being in you don’t have a chance with me so stop asking weird questions.”  Nagisa stared after him with a dumbfounded look as Ai stomped back to the bar where Haru was finishing.

“There gonna be a problem?”  Those dark blue eyes seemed unconcerned but Ai could almost read the disappointment in them.  Mostly, he was sure, because Haru didn’t want to be bothered to find someone else now that Ai had shown up.  That was something he had seen throughout the night.  Haru didn’t necessarily mind work, per se, but he never really did any more than needed to accomplish his goal.

“Nope.”  He needed this job and if one little blonde haired punk with grabby hands thought he could get the better of Ai he was sorely mistaken.  He hadn’t been entirely sure of taking the job earlier but the challenge of proving that not everyone would fall for Nagisa’s charm was just too good to pass up.

“What do you mean I don’t have a chance with you?”  The blonde had popped up behind Ai and started nuzzling his back with the top of his fluffy head.  “Why not, Ai?”

“Because you’re not my type.  So just stop hanging on me.”

“But I don’t want to.”

“Too bad.  Please stop anyways.”

“You’re fun, Ai.  I like you.”  Nagisa gave him a smile, not the playful one that had adorned his face most of the night but a calculating one that set off a small warning bell in the back of his mind as the blonde hurried to catch up with Rei and Mako as they left.

“Be careful with Nagisa.  You can never tell what he’s scheming.”  Haru muttered and grabbed his magazine from under the bar.

 

Once he started working at Lapis Ai found that Nagisa was around him all the time.  He flirted with Ai constantly.  Teased him until his cheeks burned.  Drug him shopping and to restaurants on days off and always insisted on paying.  Ai had tried to ask the others what was up, why Nagisa was so focused on him, but no one really knew anything about Nagisa.  Not even where he lived or what he did during the days when he wasn’t with Ai.  Not that it mattered to him in the end.  Whether he had wanted it or not Nagisa was his friend now.  Even if he drove him crazy sometimes.

 


End file.
